INSPIRATION FOR 2020: QUOTES EDITION

As the New Year rings in, I always like to be reminded of what it means to be a writer—both the high and noble ideal of it and the “boots-on-the-ground” mechanics—and nothing does the job better than the wisdom of those who have gone before me. A small yet strategic pile of inspirational quotes can see me through a mountain of challenges, especially when combined with Holy Scripture itself.

And I want to share them with you. 🙂

What follows is a small compilation—some whimsical, some practical—of the quotes fueling my 2020: some of my very favorite thoughts on writing, dreaming, and all things inspiring from…

SCRIPTURE

“And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” ~ Colossians 3:17

“Do you see a man who excels in his work? He will stand before kings; He will not stand before unknown men.” ~ Proverbs 22:29

“And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.” ~ Colossians 3:23

C.S. LEWIS

“Write about what really interests you, whether it is real things or imaginary things, and nothing else. (Notice this means that if you are interested only in writing you will never be a writer, because you will have nothing to write about . . .)”

“I never exactly made a book. It’s rather like taking dictation. I was given things to say.”

“The right defense against false sentiments is to inculcate just sentiments.”

“Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth (without caring twopence how often it has been told before) you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it.”

FRANK PERETTI

“Don’t worry about getting perfect. Just keep getting better.”

“Know what you’re doing. Study all you can about the writing craft. Read books about story structure, writing a novel, character development. I’ve even read books on screenplay writing and found them helpful.”

“Quit dreaming and get to work…Writing is like any other skill: you have to practice at it, so turn off the television and go to work.”

JANE AUSTEN

“I am not at all in a humor for writing; I must write on till I am.”

“My style of writing is very different from yours.”

“But for my own part, if a book is well written, I always find it too short.”

J.R.R. TOLKIEN

“It simply isn’t an adventure worth telling if there aren’t any dragons.”

“I found not being able to use a pen or pencil as defeating as the loss of her beak would be to a hen.”

“Most of my philological colleagues are shocked (certainly behind my back, sometimes to my face) at the fall of a philological [professor] into ‘Trivial literature’; and anyway the cry is: ‘now we know how you have been wasting your time for 20 years’.”

“Usually I compose only with great difficulty and endless rewriting.”

“…We make in our measure and in our derivative mode, because we are made: and not only made, but made in the image and likeness of a Maker.”

WALT DISNEY

“The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.”

“First, think. Second, dream. Third, believe. And finally, dare.”

“If you can dream, you can do it. Always remember that this whole thing was started by a mouse.”

And so, my fellow writers, in 2020, by the grace of God, I’m going to follow the sage wisdom of those before me. As Charlotte Bronte so perfectly stated,

“I’m just going to write because I cannot help it.”

I hope you’ll join me!

Live EPIC,

CHRISTIS JOY